


From Astral Plane to Paws

by teicakes



Category: Free!
Genre: AU: dream animals, Day 3: Dolphin/Shark, Fluff, Love Triangles, M/M, Rating May Change, a lot of cute pet stuff, might continue after MHR week
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-05
Updated: 2015-03-05
Packaged: 2018-03-15 23:39:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3466307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teicakes/pseuds/teicakes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For the past year he's been dreaming of the same stranger, someone he's never met yet it feels as though they're closer than anyone else he knows. If only they'd stop feeding him cat food and mumbling about that cute brunette of their dreams.</p>
            </blockquote>





	From Astral Plane to Paws

**Author's Note:**

> AU where Rin, Haru, and Mako never grew up together and are all living alone in Tokyo, save for a few oddly intelligent pets. For MakoHaruRin Week.

Something was batting at Makoto's eyelashes, flicking between his eyes and the frames of his glasses. He moaned, giving a halfhearted swipe at whatever it was to stop the _click click click_ on the lens.

"Nooo!" he groaned and hid his face. "Sleeeeeep!" 

The thing stopped, trading poking for nibbling and licking his ear. Makoto tried to drift back off into the waiting arms of sleep but nibbling was turning into biting and the little kissy noises were turning to mews. Makoto grumbled but there was a smile on his face. He wasn't going to get to go back to sleep. With gargantuan effort he lifted his head. 

"Good morning Rinrin..."

Rinrin, his cat, mewed and rubbed up under his chin, purring like a furry little lawnmower. The feline meowed again and pawed at the papers before Makoto. He must have fallen asleep at his desk again.

"What time is it..." he groaned, halfheartedly pawing at the mounds of scribbles and notes for his phone. Rinrin let out a short "yoww" and watched his human attempt to function. After several more seconds Makoto gave up his futile quest and stretched out his stiff back. Fluffy white-tipped ears flicked as Rinrin watched him curiously. Makoto groaned.

"There's no chance you know what time it is, do you?"

Rinrin made an elegant hop to onto the floor and began to prance away, making about 10 steps before turning around and meowing at him. Makoto blinked stupidly and Rinrin was on the move again, more vocal as he disappeared behind the kitchenette wall. More meowing followed, along with something that definitely sounded like - but Rinrin knew he should never do that Makoto'd raised him better than ever start - scratching at the cabinets. 

He groaned.

He was going to have to move.

_Did he really have to?_

More scratching came from the kitchen. 

 _Ah well_ , he thought, _at least I can get something to drink._

By the time shuffled into the kitchen Rinrin's noises had started to build into some type of new age percussion solo, or well, if new age percussion bands ever used cats in their music... he was kinda not all that caught up on the whole genre. His cat was seated on the stove top, mewing and rubbing up against the tea kettle with his claws out and tapping on-

The oven clock.

He couldn't do anything but laugh as he walked over to pet Rinrin. Smarter than him right now at... 23:42. Almost time for bed but they could still have a little snack before. He kept playing with Rinrin's ears as he started searching for something easy within arm's reach.

Rinrin... back when he was moving to Tokyo his parents had been worried he'd be lonely without them or his two little siblings. He knew it'd probably be true... no more neighbors, no more playing with Ren and Ran in the evenings, no more neighborhood cats. And then a week before he was about to leave Mrs. Tanaka's cat had kittens. They'd been little more than teeny balls of fur at the time, little onigiri sized cats huddled at their mother's belly, but once he'd seen them he knew he couldn't leave without one.

It had taken him hours and hours, but at long last he managed to pick one. Rinrin had been the runt of the litter, but there was just something about how he tottered around the kitchen floor as a newborn and would suckle on Makoto’s fingers with his little teeth tickling the skin he knew he was the one.

Now just over a year old Rinrin had just grown his wintercoat, making the longhair even fluffier than usual. He was a good cat, sometimes mischievous, easy to rile up, and could hiss and bear his fangs on a bad day, but he’d always make his way back Makoto after a fight and rub up against his legs until her really had no choice but to pick RInrin up and cuddle him and tell him it was okay.

_“Mrowwww.”_

Rinrin’s little white tipped paw was hanging off Makoto’s arm, his other paw doing some type of doggy-paddle imitation at the half eaten back of shrimp chips. The brunette smiled and ruffled his ears.

“Good idea buddy.”

They watched a few YouTube videos together as Makoto crunched through the chips and Rinrin tried to – and Makoto let him – sneak a few. As the numbers on his laptop clock changed over to 00:06 he closed the screen and sealed the bag off, let Rinrin drape himself across his shoulders, and made his way to the bathroom.

He brushed his teeth –  the scarlet haired cat batting at his toothbrush anytime it got within paw’s reach – and carefully washed his face, then it was off to bed. Rinrin wove through his legs and hopped onto the bed as Makoto changed into his pajamas. As soon as Makoto lifted the comforter he was underneath, darting under the fabric like a cartoon mole, slowly getting boxed closer and closer in as Makoto’s lanky limbs made their way in too.

Only when the light was turned out and Makoto settled himself against the sheets did the feline calm down and make his way up to the crook of the boy’s armpit. His little head poked out from under the comforters and Makoto couldn’t help but give those ears one last scratch.

“G’night Rinrin,” he whispered.

* * *

The boy still wasn’t awake. He was still asleep in bed, goofy smile plastered on his face as he cuddled up against the pillow like it was his girlfriend’s shoulder or something… or well, if he actually had a girlfriend.

The clock on the nightstand already read 7:50. He was going to be late at this rate, or else do one of those extremely condensed morning routines that involved tooth brushing, getting dressed, and eating breakfast all as he scrambled to collect his belongings from their various, way-too-spread-out locations around the apartment. 

There really was only one thing to do right now.

Sit on his face.

So Haru did that. 

It took a few seconds before the soft snoring was replaced with confused snorting and flailing and finally the boy sat up, flinging Haru down onto the foot of the bed in the process. His shaggy red hair was sticking up on one side and his eyes were only half open but there was no mistaking it. He was awake.

“ _Goddammit_ Koharu!”

The redhead groaned and rolled over to check his clock, only to roll back over swearing and cursing as he leapt up from under the covers. Haru watched as he hopped around the room, trying to wriggle into pleather skinny jeans and pick out the loudest available shirt. In the end it was some ridiculous hot pink number – somewhat subdued by that dark grey oversized cardigan he seemed to be in love with lately – and a black beret was rustled out from the closet to cover the ridiculously apparent bedhead. When that proved ineffective the boy grabbed a hair tie and tugged his chin-length locks into a short ponytail.

“I was having such a good dream too… there’s no chance you could have just ignored your stomach and let me sleep in and just miss my first class?”

Haru rolled his eyes and followed him out of the bedroom, watching with amusement as the guy began to collect various knickknacks and toss them in his bag. Fortunately it seemed as though he’d remembered where he’d left his phone this morning (the charger, _duh_ ) and his notes weren’t scattered all over the kitchen/living room combo. He perched on the counter, one leg lazily swinging as the redhead began digging through the couch cushions for his missing house keys. 

The clock on the wall read 8:04… no where near enough time for a decent breakfast. Haru fiddled with the mail, idly listening to the intensifying muttering in the background on the off chance he might learn a new swear word. This guy was full of them (fugly was one of his favourites now). His stomach gurgled and he looked longingly up at the cupboards. At this rate there’d be no breakfast.

He sighed and let out a hum. Or at least it started as a hum but quickly turned into a “ _Pllllurrrr”._  

“ _Godfucking dammit why am I such a fucknucke where the fuck are-“_

 _Fucknuckle_. That was a new one.

 _“PLLLURRRRR”_ repeated Haru.

The boy’s head snapped up from his CD collection.

“Not now fuzzball I’m trying to find my keys.”

 _“PLLLURRRRR!”_ Haru tapped the stack of yesterday’s mail. There was a definite un-mail like jingle.

The boy stood up so fast his hat nearly fell off. “You’ve got to be kidding me…”He watched as Haru pushed a flyer for KFC onto the ground to reveal the missing keys.

“Holy shit Koharu why are you so good at finding stuff?” There was little else Haru could do but shrug and look away as the redhead came over and tickled him along the jaw and under the chin. It felt… nice. Comforting and warm, one of those little things this guy would do that instantly sliced through his cocky exterior to this great big doughy core. Like how he cried watching romance films as he hugged a squirming Haruka to his chest or would always get a little piece of fish at the store every week even though they guy only seemed to like red meat. Those types of things…

But sometimes he went overboard and it was too much for Haru, practically wanting to just curl up and hide before his embarrassment got to him. Too much touching too fast...

So of course Haru bit the guy.

Gently, on the wrist. Just a slight press of the teeth against skin to send the message. Usually he got it pretty fast.

The stroking hand retreated. “Dangit… you really don’t like too much petting do you?” As if in response Haru shuffled a few inches to the left.

“Ah well, guess it can’t be helped… why you couldn’t be just a little bit more cuddly is beyond me.” He continued to talk as he dug a protein bar out of the cupboard. “-I’ve got practice this afternoon again so I’ll be late tonight. I’m going to leave some extra food out for you, so don’t eat it all now or you’ll regret it later. If I get a chance I’ll see if squid is on sale and bring some home.”

He poured out a bowl of nibblets and let Haru sniff it before adding a dollop of tuna on top. He gave Haruka one last ruffle on the head, watching with amusement at the disdainful look shot back at him, and began pulling his shoes on.

“See you later! Wish me luck!”

And with that Haru was left alone in the apartment. He sighed, hopped down from the counter and settled himself down on the sofa. He was just in the process of drifting off when something whined in his ears. Haru blinked lazily.

_Just my imagination._

The couch was so warm… so soft… it was like floating on a sea of clouds. He was so comfy he could almost purr. He snuggled in deeper, nose slipping deeper and deeper into the cheap pleather. It was getting hard to breathe, but he was just so comfy he could-

* * *

“ _ARooorooOOROoooooo”_

Haruka’s head was unceremoniously jerked up. Blunt nails scraped against his skin and a wet mop pressed into his chin. His blue eyes flashed wide and terrified as the world around him came back into focus.

The redhead’s apartment was gone, instead replaced with tiles. _Familiar tiles._ The walls of his bathroom… He moved a leg, hearing the sound of water ripple around his knee. A whine came from his chest.

Haruka blinked. The whining persisted, accompanied with timid splashes. Slowly he reached for the mop of hair against his chest. A quiet whine came from beneath him as his fingers slid into soft fur.

“Makkou?”

Carefully the head underneath his own wormed its way into his sightlines. His golden retriever, Makkou, stared up at him with big, scared hazel eyes. The dog’s ears were pressed flat against his head as he lifted his paw out of the bath, staring up at Haru as if he was in trouble – or maybe worry?

Haruka rubbed his face and stopped, the answer dawning on him as his fingers trailed from wet to dry just below the apples of his cheeks.

 “I fell asleep in the bath…”

Makkou ruffed quietly and started shimmying backwards out of the tub. So he’d been asleep again, having one of _those_ dreams, when he’d started sliding his face under the water and Makkou pulled him out. He let a hint of a smile grace his face and watched as his pet stumbled back onto the bathmat, fur spiked up every-which way. Such a good boy… usually not one for baths or water but if Haru needed him too he could be coaxed in…

And now Makkou was shaking off… onto everything.

Haruka sighed. Time to get out of the tub before the entire room was coated in gold hairs and wet dog smell for weeks to come. Hardly looking he threw his towel at Makkou in a feeble attempt to stop the dog from perfuming the room in - what could only be described as – _eau de stink_. The towel landed smack on Makkou’s head, hiding his snout from view and freezing the big idiot on the spot. A high whine came from under the terrycloth.

“Honestly Makkou…” Haru sloshed out of the bath. A second towel was snatched off the shelf and wrapped around his waist before he bent down to deal with his oversized puppy. “Sometimes,” he started drying off Makkou’s head, “you’re this conscientious ball of hair on top of things-“ he moved onto his body. “-and then at other times-“ he held out his hand for Makkou’s paw and began toweling off his leg, “-you’re off being an airhead.”

Haru stopped his drying as Makkou looked at him, his doggy head tilted to the side with one ear cocked, as if trying to understand everything Haruka had just said. Then he tried to shake again, leaving Haru little other option then to wrestle the dog back into his arms and try again. He’d do a better job this time, make sure his pet was totally dry before letting him go. As he worked on the left ear his mind started to wander back to his dream.

He had dreams about that redhead on and off. It didn’t matter where he slept, bath or bed or train, it would happen. It wasn’t every time, but without fail if he dreamed it was always of that apartment and that mysterious guy with the weird fashion sense. He never learned the guy’s name, never wandered outside of that 1LDK, he was just… there. And it was always the same, a combination of the boy barely noticing him, in passing glances and casual “hey there” ‘s like they were nothing more than roommates, and then there were those times the boy would try and cuddle with him and muss his hair and kiss his forehead.

Most embarrassing, Haru had to admit there were times he really wanted the redhead to act like that with him… enough that sometimes his dream self would snuggle against his side and wait hopefully until those soft hands reached over to pull him into a quick squeeze. Sometimes the need to be close to someone was so much he’d actually tried worming himself into the hood of the man’s jacket just to be able to rub against his neck and read over his shoulder. Being close with someone like that…

 _No_ , he thought to himself, _I don’t need a relationship. I don’t **want** a relationship. The reason you’re dreaming these kinds of things is because you’re spending so much time alone._ Between university and his apprenticing at that French-fusion restaurant he hardly had time for friends or dating. Besides, karaoke and group dates weren’t really his style. Too much effort. Too much… everything.

A bone dry Makkou whined at him. Haru’d zoned out yet again, his golden retriever now fluffed into a yellow puffball, more of a pompom than dog.

“Sorry Makkou…” he removed the towel from his now thoroughly dried companion and started toweling himself off as he walked, Makkou padding down the hall after him. It was just a day at the restaurant today, no need to dress too fancy, just his brown work pants and a t-shirt to go under his chef’s jacket (or well, apprentice’s jacket).  He pulled his one of his old favourites off the laundry pile – the one of Loosey, the deep sea loosejaw anglerfish – and began dressing. Makkou was always so cute as he did this. As soon as Haru’s towel dropped to the ground the dog would lie down and cover his face with his paws, as if the idea of seeing his master naked embarrassed him.

Haruka pulled on a pair of briefs and shimmied into his pants, bending down for the briefest of seconds to pat Makkou on the head. The pup peeked out from between his paws, and, when satisfied Haruka wasn’t strolling around in the nude, jumped up to his feet. 

The two of them shared a simple breakfast. Haru grilled himself some mackerel (he’d been playing with different marinades all week – today was a miso maple one) and went about prepping Makkou’s food. He’d never really been one for red meat, but he did need to perfect cooking it, so whenever there was discount beef or pork at the store he’d get a small portion and cook it plainly with some vegetables for Makkou, little piece by little piece to spread the tiny cutlet out over a week. To Makkou’s credit he never whined or begged when he was put back onto dry food, so all the more reason to spoil his just a little.

If his mother still lived with him she’d be aghast. But she wasn’t, off with his father to yet another new, better paying job position and here he was left behind yet again. He didn’t hate it, he couldn’t despise them, but sometimes he wished he could see them more.

 _This is why you need to go out more_.

He rolled his eyes as he begun the dishes. As if that was going to happen, he knew himself better. He’d talk somewhat with his coworkers, maybe hang back and have dinner with them after closing, but that’d be it. He wasn’t one for wandering about if he didn’t have Makkou with him. Taking his dog out for walks was probably the most social time of his day. The neighbourhood kids loved him, crawling on and petting and tugging poor, tolerant Makkou until he’d whine at Haruka and the boy would pull the kids off him and continue on their walk. Sometimes girls would stop to coo over him, bending over and baby-talking Makkou until he tested new areas of his vomit control ability.

Speak of the living pillow, Makkou was stretching out, already ready for his post-breakfast nap. There were the usual three little circles, the quiet “harrumph” as he lay himself onto his blanket, and the final few wiggles of his head until he was well and truly settled in for his sleep. 

Haruka gave the clock one last look and started to pack himself up. If he made it to the train station in 10 he could still make it on time. In 30 seconds his keys and train pass were in his hand, bag over his shoulder and socks in hand. In his last few seconds before racing out the door he made sure to pat Makkou one last time.

* * *

Back in his apartment, Makoto was brushing his teeth; cheeks still a faint pink from his dream of the cute blue-eyed boy changing in front of him.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> This more or less came from stewing on a tumblr post that said something along the lines of 'picture your OTP in a 'the lake house' AU' where they have a connection to each other but can never meet. Which of course meant me ending up with an AU where the boys occupy the body of another one's pet when they're asleep in some twisted triangle where they're all falling for the mystery guy in their dreams while they snuggle up with their own pets since they think it can't happen… depending on time and how people feel about it I might keep writing it.


End file.
